Lungs & vaping

[reefcat]

Nearly 4 months that I've been off the fags for good. Decided to dust down our bikes yesterday and try for a little blast around the local (hilly) country lanes. Did about 8k yesterday and about 10k today, not very much by most cyclists standard. However, I could breathe and get some way up the steeper bits before I had to get off & walk. My wife is astonished, these are hills I couldn't have walked up just a few months ago. I would have been gasping for breath after a few hundred meters.

Can't believe how quickly my lung capacity has improved, no wheezing, no coughing, feeling knackered but good.

Looking forward to slowly building up some fitness that I thought had disappeared and I could never get back. So now that it's cooling down a bit over here, we are going to try and get out on the bikes 3 or 4 times a week and see how it goes, little & often for now.

All down to switching to vaping, and in some part to the help and support on AAEC.

[gm111]

And this is just the start reefcat .. Your just going too get fitter and feel better the more you do. Just don't push yourself too hard or you'll find yourself with an injury and out for a couple of weeks.

[Bobsbeer]

Well done. I went for a heart stress test a couple of weeks ago and they said I had good lung function and heart rate. I bet they would not have said that this time last year.

[Chrissie]

reefcat I used to struggle & gasp for breath, walking up hills - not any more It's a brilliant feeling isn't it?

[reefcat]

Oct 12, 2015 8:23:40 GMT Chrissie said:

reefcat I used to struggle & gasp for breath, walking up hills - not any more It's a brilliant feeling isn't it?

My legs give out now before my breathing does, that's never happened before, and yes it's great. Feeling inspired to do more now, (although that might not last)

[reefcat]

A quick follow up to my original post. My kids (all in their thirties) have just been over to stay for a while & enjoy the Algarve weather. The two youngest (both girls) do triathlons, and my son does a lot of mountain biking, so basically they are all very fit. They spotted an organised day trip on mountain bikes, about 32 kilometres, some of it down what passes for a mountain over here. The downhill bits were great fun, but they hadn't quite described the uphill portions quite so accurately.

Cutting a long story short, I made it, just. Found it very tough at times up the hills, but with a little rest managed to keep going. I seriously thought, just six months ago that I could never in a million years have managed a trip like that. Now feeling really inspired by my improvement in breathing, all down to vaping and getting off the stinkies. I'm 60 years old and my wife and I have just bought a couple of second hand mountain bikes. Started on a few local hills, and whilst they are very tough for me, I can genuinely feel an improvement in my fitness after every trip.

Really looking forward to getting some nice trails done this winter

[gm111]

What did I tell you reefcat , you just feel better and better .. Mountain biking is a lot more demanding than the roads but a lot more fun especially going downhill, just remember in the wet mud your back brakes your best friend, had quite a few offs myself loosing the front going too fast and just tapping the front brake a little..

[NickIcon]

Nov 8, 2015 23:52:40 GMT reefcat said:

Really looking forward to getting some nice trails done this winter

This is what I'm hoping you'll be ready for this time next year!

(PS, I'm the aforementioned son)

[Bobsbeer]

For me that would be swapping one way of killing myself for another, except that one would be more certain, and probably more instant.

[reefcat]

Nov 9, 2015 11:32:07 GMT NickIcon said:

Nov 8, 2015 23:52:40 GMT reefcat said:

Really looking forward to getting some nice trails done this winter

This is what I'm hoping you'll be ready for this time next year!

(PS, I'm the aforementioned son)

Legs still aching from the last one

[naDiel]

Nov 9, 2015 11:32:07 GMT NickIcon said:

Nov 8, 2015 23:52:40 GMT reefcat said:

Really looking forward to getting some nice trails done this winter

This is what I'm hoping you'll be ready for this time next year!

(PS, I'm the aforementioned son)

I need to get back my confidence to ride like that... Missing the times when I was riding my bike like that muchly

[jevans]

Well done reefcat !
Unfortunately my 50+ years of smoking have done irreparable damage, but on the brighter side I've been vaping for over 3 years and my breathing has improved.
Not to your extent, I've only got to walk up the stairs and I'm puffing, my sense of smell and taste are also improving slowly.

Jim

[reefcat]

Thought I would resurrect this thread with a bit of an update.

Since my last post here we have done another 30 rides or so. Not doing great distances, mainly because it's very hilly & I still have to stop to get my breath from time to time. However, we have managed a few 30k plus rides, albeit with plenty of stops for coffee & a breather. Invested in a couple of nice road bikes & a really good bike GPS & heart rate monitor that allows us to record our rides & some fitness stats. We're blessed with pretty good weather most of the year, so are able to get out on the bikes 3-4 times a week. There is a noticeable improvement in our ability to get up hills, or at least to get further up the hill than last time,after almost every ride. For me, at 60, having stopped smoking after 44 years I'm completely blown away by the body's ability to recover, albeit slowly, from 60 years of abuse & neglect.

Feeling really inspired to keep this up for the long term, we're both losing weight, getting fitter & getting out of the house & into the countryside. I have managed to avoid the lycra so far, but if I can lose another stone & won't look like Max Wall (according to my wife) quite so much, I might be tempted

Stopping smoking through vaping has opened so many doors that I thought were closed forever. We are actually enjoying exercising for the sake of it, the mental & physical sense of wellbeing after a good ride gives us both quite a buzz & we want more. All of this improvement in lifestyle is down to vaping, it confirms to us that it's never too late to do something about your fitness & stopping smoking is just the first step in another journey

[Bobsbeer]

Well done. Quite jealous as I look out at the cold and rain, but regardless of that I too feel better for not smoking for over a year. That alone has made a big difference.